Estimating the Conservation Value in Redang Island Marine Park:

A Contingent Valuation Approach

The Regional Training WorkshopEconomic Valuation of the Goods and Services of Coastal Habitats

March 24 – 28, 2008 Samut Songkram Province, Thailand

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IntroductionIntroduction

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The beautiful island of Pulau Redang lies about 45 km north-northeast of Kuala Terengganu, or 22 km off TanjungMerang, the closest point on the mainland. The Bugis people from Celebes, Indonesia were believed to be the first settlers on the island. Many of their descendants are now working the tourist trade in Redang while others have moved to the mainland.

Over the years, Redang has grown to be one of the most popular destinations for tourists and divers due its pristine nature and rich marine environment. In 1991, the Redang archipelago was gazetted as the Pulau Redang Marine Park, becoming a protected site under the Government.

Redang Island Marine Park

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The Redang archipelago constitutes the islands of Pulau Redang, Pulau Lima, Pulau Paku Besar, Pulau PakuKecil, Pulau Kerengga Kecil, Pulau Kerengga Besar, PulauEkor Tebu, Pulau Ling and Pulau Pinang.

Pulau Redang at 7 km long and 6 km wide is the largest island. The highest peak is Bukit Besar at 359 metres above sea-level. Only the bigger islands like Redang, Lang Tengah, Perhentian and Kapashave resort facilities for visitors.

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Visitors can come here to learn about marine park conservation besides engaging in their own diving and snorkelling activities. The sea bed around the island holds a magnificent variety of life, including moray eels, giant groupers and clown fish. There is also shipwreck close to the jetty which is perfect for exploration through snorkelling.

Marine Park

Many resorts will offer snorkelling in their packages. Pasir Panjang, which is a nesting bay for baby sharks, is the top place to snorkel. Scuba-diving is the second most popular activity; the waters are crystal-clear and you can glimpse all manner of sea creatures in the water. Resorts on the island do offer scuba equipment and diving classes to cater to all ages.

You can also kayak around the island and play beach volleyball, but jet-skis and water-skiing is banned to protect the tranquillity and quality of the marine environment. Fishing is also banned but outside a two-mile boundary around the island, angling is permitted.

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There are three species of turtles that come to Redang to nest –the Green Turtel, Olive Ridley and Hawksbill. Green turtles next between March to December with a peak in August, and January to September for Hawksbills and Olive Ridleys in May.

Turtle-Watching

The nesting points include Pasir Chagar Hutang, Pasir Mak Simpan, Pasir Mak Kepit, Pasir Bujangand Teluk Dalam.

Visitors can also visit SEATRU, a large green turtle nursery and turtle conservation centre, perhaps even volunteer to help in collecting eggs and incubating them till they hatch upon which the baby turtles will be released into the sea.

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There are several trails to explore the rainforest on the island, conveniently located behind some of the premier resorts. Going off the beaten track will lead you to scenic hilltops and rocky cliffs that offer panoramic views of the island and sea. A guide is recommended for these kinds of journeys.

Jungle-Trekking

Redang’s mangroves are also home to a rich variety of coastal life. Creatures you can see here include crabs, mudskippers, birds, monitors and much more. Deeper within the forest, visitors can glimpse rare orchids and beautiful trees. As it is a small island, only tiny animals such as the mouse deer, monkeys, some bats and jungle rodents can be seen, but it is still worth checking out.

Birds that can be seen here include the olive-backed sunbird, dark-necked tailorbird, terns, pink-necked pigeon, swiftlets and white-bellied sea eagles. Black-nest swiftlets and white-nest swiftlets often make their nests in the many cliffs and sea caves on Redang. The bird’s nests are collected during certain times of the year as they are believed to hold therapeutic properties when ingested in soup form.

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“To meet the needs of present and future generation without jeopardizing the ability of natural resources to be developed, managed and conserved in terms of economic, social,

and ecology……..”

Sustainable Ecotourism Management

Concept and Fundamental of Ecotourism Development

• Environmental conservation•Generate national economy•Generate local economy benefits•Satisfaction to visitors

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Dual functions: conservation of the marine environment and ecotourism destination (business) Attractions: biological richness of marine resources, mangrove, coral reefs, fish, turtle,Coastal vegetation, beautiful beaches Main ecotourism activities: snorkeling and scuba diving Major Issues in Marine Parks

• Entrance fee practice ‘conservation fee’ is very low; RM5 (US1.3) for domestic and international visitors• open access; multiple entrances exist•Over use; peak season such as school holiday

Marine Parks in MalaysiaMarine Parks in Malaysia

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Objective of the Study

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To estimates the conservation value of the ecotourism destination in

Redang Island Marine Park by using environmental

economics tools,

A Contingent Valuation Method

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Methodology

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U

L

1-bPRICEa dPRICE)e(1E(WTP)

-1x)e-(1P

Where x = estimated regression logit equationP = the probability of accepting the price.

Logistic regression technique was used to estimate WTP. Using this approach the probability of saying "YES" to a bid at different level of the independent variable is estimated as:

Mean WTP is estimated as the area under this probability function

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X = RM6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12215 numbers of respondents

‘If entrance fees are charge byRM x, would you willing to payso that you could continue touse this recreational area?’

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Result and Discussion

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Socio-economic Characteristics of Respondents

Frequency PercentRespondent Origin

International tourist 51 23.72Local tourist 164 76.28

AgeLess than 20 years 8 3.7221 - 30 years 91 42.3331 - 40 years 62 28.8441 - 50 years 32 14.8851 - 60 years 18 8.37More than 60 years 4 1.86

GenderFemale 90 41.86Male 125 58.14

RaceMalay 94 43.72Cjinese 108 50.23Indian 2 0.93Others 11 5.12

Education LevelPrimary school 8 3.72Secondary school 57 26.51College/institute 51 23.72University 99 46.05

Marital statusSingle 86 40Married 126 58.6Widow 3 1.4

Frequency Percent

Employment Status

Student 13 6.05

Self-employed 24 11.16

Work with government 28 13.02Work with private sector 131 60.93

Retired 6 2.79

Housewife 10 4.65

Unemployed 3 1.4

Income

Less than RM1000.00 11 5.12

RM1001 - RM 2000 85 39.53

RM2001 - RM3000 43 20

RM3001 - RM4000 22 10.23

RM4001 - RM5001 16 7.44

More than RM5000 38 17.67

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Parameter Estimates for Dichotomous Choice Model for Pulau Redang Marine Park

Logit Model Probit ModelIntercept 3.0850 1.8914

(2.9151)* (2.9974)*PRICE -0.2257 -0.1413

(-2.4263)* (-2.4899)*INCOME 0.00019 0.00012

(2.2759)* (2.3360)*Local Tourist -1.3903 -0.8232

(-2.5852)* (-2.7265)*Log-likelihood -120.7700 -120.3300MCFADDEN R-SQUARE 0.1314 0.1346% Right Prediction 66.98 66.98

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Estimating of Mean WTP for PulauRedang Marine Park

Model Tourist Origin WTP (RM)

Logit ModelLocal tourist 7.84

International tourist 10.63

Probit ModelLocal tourist 7.11

International tourist 9.81

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Additional Net Benefit of the ParkForeign Visitors Domestic Visitors

Total No. Value No Value1990 130 1,380.60 577 4,523.68 5,904.28 1991 787 8,357.94 3,938 30,873.92 39,231.86 1992 1,131 12,011.22 4,930 38,651.20 50,662.42 1993 1,235 13,115.70 6,413 50,277.92 63,393.62 1994 1,970 20,921.40 6,379 50,011.36 70,932.76 1995 4,035 42,851.70 18,690 146,529.60 189,381.30 1996 7,755 82,358.10 26,988 211,585.92 293,944.02 1997 5,940 63,082.80 30,258 237,222.72 300,305.52 1998 7,544 80,117.28 26,922 211,068.48 291,185.76 1999 7,559 80,276.58 39,449 309,280.16 389,556.74 2000 9,244 98,171.28 43,390 340,177.60 438,348.88 2001 8,041 85,395.42 65,539 513,825.76 599,221.18 2002 7,563 80,319.06 56,263 441,101.92 521,420.98 2003 4,565 48,480.30 71,654 561,767.36 610,247.66 2004 31,251 331,885.62 111,225 872,004.00 1,203,889.62 2005 24,296 258,023.52 98,863 775,085.92 1,033,109.44

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ConclusionConclusion

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The implication of this study is important as a guideline to assist the decision-makers in terms of welfare measures such as recreational benefits especially considering the importance of our natural resources in order to meet developmental needs and othereconomic activities. This kind of study depicts how environmental valuation exercise can be a useful tool which is able to estimate the recreational benefits in supporting the decisions whether ornot a particular natural resource is to be scarified for alternative uses or economic motives.

For Redang Island Marine Park, the result of this study providesan economic ground for its management’s effort as well as the policy makers’ decision to continue maintaining the area as a coral sanctuary. The result of this study may also be incorporated in the economic analysis for determining the viability of conserving the area in the long run. Furthermore, the estimated benefits obtained from this study (source) may be transferred to other similar corel sites (targets) for the purpose of policy or management decisions affecting the target resource.

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Thank You

Terima Kasih

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